Make It for Less: Beaded Pendant Necklace

Although there are so many great things that the Internet has to offer, there are a few downsides as well to the old world wide web. While I love that I can choose from a seemingly endless online pool of items to buy, everyone knows the pain of clicking on a Pinterest photo only to see that either the item isn’t actually for sale or it sold out two years ago and it’s never coming back. Of course, if you are a DIYer, that may not be the end of the road for you! Take for example this adorable two strand pendant necklace from Anthropologie. It was sold out by the time I got to it. So, I thought why not try to create something similar from supplies I can find?

You’ll also need:-round jewelry nose pliers -flat nose pliers -wire cutters (buy them in a set if you don’t already have some!)

First you’ll want to link together your beaded sections. Take an eye pin and place a bead onto the wire. Use the flat nose pliers to bend the remaining wire at a 90 degree angle and trim the wire about 10mm from the bend with the wire cutters. Use the round nose pliers to bend the wire back in the opposite direction into a loop. At first you’ll use the part of the pliers near the wider end to create the overall loop and then the skinny end to adjust the loop as needed. Right before you close the loop with the pliers, slip the eye of the next eye pin onto the loop you’re about to close so it will connect to the next bead. Continue this process until you have 10 beads in a row, and then make another separate row of 10 beads.

Connect the two strands of 10 beads with a jump ring, and then connect your hammered rectangle onto that first connecting jump ring with another jump ring. Now you have the bottom strand of your necklace! Repeat the process again with two separate rows of 7 beads instead of 10 beads for the top necklace strand.

Once you have your two beaded strands with the hammered blanks attached, cut a piece of chain that is 16″ long with your wire cutters and attach both ends of the chain to your longer beaded strand (just open up the eye pin end loops enough to slip the end of the chain onto the loop and close it again with your pliers). Repeat the process with an 11″ inch chain for the shorter strand. Use the wire cutters to cut both chains apart in the exact middle of each chain so you can attach your closure.

Use a jump ring to attach one end of the long chain and one end of the short chain together and attach that jump ring to one side of a lobster claw closure. Repeat the process with the other sides of the chains and the other half of the closure. That’s it! Your necklace is done!

While the original necklace cost $240, the necklace supplies for my DIY version only cost around $40 instead—what a savings!! Since you are the boss of this DIY, you can also make the chain longer or shorter and vary the amount of beads to your liking as well. It’s moments like these where both the DIY and the thrifty side of my brain are united in utter happiness and all is right with the crafting world. Think you’ll get in on the savings game too? xo. Laura

I love Anthropologie but I am more and more referring to them as a source for general style and DIY inspiration than actually purchasing! This looks awesome…and I think I actually like it better than the original! Well done!

DIY jewelry is the BEST!! My aunt owns a shop in Canada that is all DIY – you just buy the stones. Everything from simple beads to black diamonds! There is something so therapeutic about putting the pieces together. This is an amazing idea and such savings!